One of the most talked about names heading up to the NHL trade deadline is staying put.
Arizona Coyotes forward Radim Vrbata - set to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the year - wasn't traded ahead of the 3:00 p.m. ET deadline, general manager John Chayka confirmed to AZ Sports' Craig Morgan.
Despite the lack of a deal, the hours leading up to the deadline saw much speculation of a potential transaction.
Eyes were on Coyotes practice Wednesday afternoon, especially after Vrbata participated in practice.
Streit is a veteran of 765 regular-season games and has 428 career points.
Meanwhile, the Lightning free up some cap space for next season. While Streit holds a more expensive cap hit at $5.25 million - compared to Filppula's $5 million - the blue-liner will become an unrestricted free agent at season's end, while Filppula remains under contract for one more season.
#Flyers now inherit Filppula's NMC & will be required to protect him in the upcoming Expansion draft. #Tampa on the other hand gains a spot.
Streit has chipped in five goals and 21 points this season, while Filppula has been slightly more productive with seven goals and 34 points in 59 games.
With the deal the Blue Jackets add more depth to their relatively young blue line. In Quincey Columbus receives a verteran pivot with 548 games under his belt and 54 playoff games of experience.
The Nashville Predators defenseman is back in Montreal for his club's contest against the Canadiens on Thursday and to receive the Sovereign's Medal for Volunteers for his contributions to the Montreal Children's Hospital.
On Wednesday, Subban spoke to reporters where he reflected on his former club, while giving his well wishes to former head coach Michel Therrien who was fired in lieu of Claude Julien two weeks ago - despite reports of a rocky relationship during his time with the Canadiens.
"He taught me a lot about the game and being a professional and I wish him the best," Subban said, according to TSN's John Lu.
Of course, in returning to the city he spent the first six seasons of his career, Subban couldn't help but reflect on his trade to the Predators - a move he insists left him with one burning regret.
#Preds Subban says he made a promise to fans, teammates, team to bring a Cup to Mtl. Not following through is what upsets him about trade.
Subban, however, also joked about the situation, suggesting the move to Nashville was made easier with few family ties holding him back.
"I've made it to 27 without any kids... at least none that I know of," said Subban.
In all, Subban is thrilled to be back in Montreal and admits the thing he is looking forward to most is seeing Mme. Beliveau in the stands Thursday night.
If King - who is set to become an unrestricted free agent at season's end - signs with the Canadiens, the fourth-round pick will become a third-round selection, according to TVA's Renaud Lavoie.
It adds to a recurring theme, in that the Canadiens have added another depth forward.
King had spent his entire seven-year career with the Kings, who drafted him in the fourth round in 2007.
The 27-year-old has 69 games of playoff experience and has eight goals and 15 points in 63 games this season.
The Calgary Flames are walking with some swagger thanks to a five-game winning streak.
The Flames have been living up to their moniker of late with seven wins in their last 10 games and after a thrilling 2-1 overtime win over the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday night, head coach Glen Gulutzan admits his team has the right to feel good about itself.
"We are confident - and we should be," Gulutzan said, according to Kristen Odland of the Calgary Herald. "We've been trying to build that up all season. Right from the start, I know a lot of our conversations have gone that way. That's what we said between the first and second periods.
"We said, 'There's a reason they're trailing us in the standings. Let's go and show them why.'"
Thanks to the Flames' recent streak, the club has jumped up to within two points of the Anaheim Ducks for the third place in the Pacific Division and created a five-point cushion between them and the St. Louis Blues, who currently occupy the second wild-card spot.
More importantly, with Tuesday's win, the Flames also created some separation between them and the Kings, who are one point out from that final wild-card berth.
For the Flames, victories over the Kings are something they hope to see more of as the teams will meet three more times down the stretch.
"Now, after our first performance in L.A., we're going to have to be on our toes for the next ones," Gulutzan said. "They realize we're going to be battling tooth and nail."
On Tuesday, Vancouver flipped long-time Canuck Jannik Hansen for a conditional fourth-round pick and prospect Nikolay Goldobin.
It was the club's latest move in their apparent shift into rebuild mode, and while some Canucks faithful might be saddened by the loss of a player who'd been with the organization since the 2007-08 season, the fact is, Goldobin gives the Canucks a quality young talent.
Here are three things you need to know about Goldobin:
He was among the Sharks' top prospects
(Photo courtesy: Getty Images)
Goldobin was certainly no throw-in in Tuesday's transaction.
In Goldobin, the Canucks are getting a former first-round pick and a player NHL.com's Eric Gilmore touted as the Sharks third-best prospect entering the season. Goldobin is a highly skilled forward who, with some added strength, could become a dependable everyday player, Gilmore notes,
Meanwhile, ESPN prospect expert Corey Pronman ranked Goldobin 95th among the top 120 prospects entering this season, further praising his high-end puck skills.
He's a young, skilled player, exactly what the Canucks need to start filling their roster.
He's a high-end AHL producer
Goldobin's strongest asset is his offensive game, and his numbers bear that out.
Last season, Goldobin finished tied for seventh in the AHL in rookie goals with 21 - which also tied for first on the San Jose Barracudas.
This season, the 21-year-old is back to filling the net and at an ever higher clip. Through 46 games, Goldobin has 15 goals and 41 points, good enough for third in team scoring.
He was an offensive dynamo with the OHL's Sarnia Sting in is junior heyday, and if he can translate that part of his game to the NHL level, this could be another big win for Jim Benning and Co.
He'll get a bigger opportunity in Vancovuer
(Photo courtesy: USA Today)
While praise can be heaped on most former first-round picks, the question that almost always follows is: If he's so good, why did the Sharks trade him away?
In Goldobin, the reasoning is quite simple: Opportunity.
With the Sharks, Goldobin struggled to crack a roster that had very few open roster spots.
Factor in that Goldobin was competing with 2015 ninth overall pick Timo Meier, who's only managed to suit up for 26 games this season, and Kevin Labanc, who's become a Sharks regular, and it's clear Goldobin was in a tough position in San Jose.
With the Canucks - especially given the trades of Alex Burrows and Hansen - a roster spot should be available for the taking both down the stretch this season and down the road into next season, making the Canucks a great fit for Goldobin.
Canadiens captain Max Pacioretty hit the 30-goal plateau with the first of his two goals on Monday, and joined an elite group of Montreal greats in the process.
Pacioretty has now hit the milestone in four consecutive seasons, becoming just the fifth player in franchise history to do so, joining Steve Shutt, Guy Lafleur, Maurice Richard, and Yvan Cournoyer.
Pacioretty also scored his 31st of the year later in the game, putting him alone in second place league-wide in goals, just three behind Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby.
Montreal would go on to defeat New Jersey 4-3 in overtime.
Benn joins the Canadiens after spending his first six years in the league with the Stars. As for Pateryn, his availability was made known after it was reported that the Canadiens had sent a league-wide memo to NHL clubs last week.
For the Canadiens, the club gets a more stable depth option on the back end, while the Stars helped to settle a potential expansion issue regarding which defensemen to protect, with John Klingberg and Dan Hamhuis - who owns a modified no-trade clause - sure things to be protected.
As for Benn, he remains under contract for the next two-seasons at a cap-friendly $1.1-million per season, while Patery has one year and $800,000 remaining on his deal.
The 30-year-old noted Friday that he provided his club with a list of eight teams he would be willing to be traded to, according to TSN's Farhan Lalji.
Hansen admitted that of the eight teams, seven are playoff teams and one is a preferred city.
According to CapFriendly.com, Hansen can submit a list of eight teams he's willing to be dealt to. The Canucks would then have 45 days after receiving the request to trade him to one of those teams, or else the list becomes void.
As per Lalji, goaltender Ryan Miller has also signed off on his own trade list from the summer - which includes five teams he's willing to join in a swap - while Henrik Sedinconfirmed that neither him nor Daniel have been asked to waive their no-trade clause.
Hansen could potentially serve as a cap-friendly option for a contending team. He represents a modest cap hit of $2.5 million this season and next.
